New Soul
by Aiden St. Felix
Summary: Lusine Avakian realized early on that she and the school outcast, Clark Kent, had a few things in common: Neither of them had many friends, if any at all; they were both bullied, but for different reasons; and they were both keeping secrets. The final thing Lusine didn't know she had in common with Clark was how life altering those secrets were. [Bad summary, sorry!] Clark x OC


_I'm a new soul, I came to this strange world_  
 _Hoping I could learn a bit 'bout how to give and take_  
 _But since I came here, felt the joy and the fear_  
 _Finding myself making every possible mistake_

-New Soul; **from Yael Na** **ïm**

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 **1993**

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Lusine did everything she could to keep her mind distracted. She _had_ to keep her mind distracted. She'd fiddle with her pencil, mess with the corners of whatever papers she had in front of her - do just about _anything_. If Lusine's mind faltered even for a _moment_ , then she'd be subjected to everything that would follow. Lusine remembered vividly what happened when she allowed her mind to roam free, when she let outside influences infiltrate her thoughts and emotions. It was very disastrous, and it was promised that Lusine would never allow such things to happen again.

At only twelve years old, Lusine Avakian found herself displaying abilities that she couldn't quite explain. It hadn't been that long ago when she started hearing voices in her head. They were saying things she couldn't understand; secrets, information, feelings about certain things - stuff Lusine couldn't quite comprehend. It was overwhelming, and it seemed to get worse with each passing hour. The voices would get louder and louder, swirling around in Lusine's head like a tornado, making her feel as if she were going crazy. No matter how hard she tried, it felt as if nothing could keep those voices out. Lusine tried keeping herself as busy as possible, and it _sort_ _of_ worked. The voices could be somewhat ignored, but they were still very much making life difficult. All Lusine wanted was the be normal. She wanted to experience average teenage things; that's all. Was too much to ask for?

Closing her eyes, Lusine tried taking a deep breath. Things weren't going to get better if she started panicking.

"Lusine, are you paying attention?" Snapping her eyes open, Lusine's gaze met the teacher's. Mrs. Mitchells was the seventh grade English teacher, known for being very strict. Considering seventh grade was Lusine's first year in public school, the idea of being called out in the middle of class sent a wave of panic throughout her body. It shattered the distraction Lusine tried building for that period; which meant all the voices she tried to ignore were flooding back in.

 _She's such a freak..._

 _Why is she even here? She doesn't do anything..._

 _Weirder than that Kent loser..._

 _Does she ever talk? It's like she's brain-dead or something..._

 _How'd she even make it this far?_

The voices had started out as whispers, sounding similar to the voices of Lusine's classmates. But when more voices started filling her head, it went from whispering to shouting to screaming. Lusine found herself overcome with panic, causing her to shoot out from her desk in an attempt to run out of the classroom. Before she even made it to the door, Mrs. Mitchells' hand shot out and grabbed Lusine's forearm, two of the teacher's fingers touching Lusine's skin.

"Lusine, what is...?" Mrs. Mitchells' voice cut off as a dizzying look swept across her face. The grip she had on Lusine's arm tightened, and no matter how hard the twelve year old tried to tug herself free, the harder the grip seemed to become. Looking down at Mrs. Mitchells' hand, Lusine felt all the blood drain from her face. The veins in her teacher's hand were turning black. The discoloration slowly made its way up Mrs. Mitchells' arm. What wasn't being discolored was turning deathly pale, the skin itself looking as if it were shriveling.

Letting out a horrified scream, Lusine's other hand shot out and yanked Mrs. Mitchells' hand off her arm as she ran out of the classroom. A sickening thud could be heard as the teacher's body hit the floor, accompanied by the screams of the students.

 **O.O.O.O**

Lusine managed to run for a good mile or two before coming to a stop. Her lungs were burning and her legs ached. Her head was spinning and her skin felt tingly, though Lusine wasn't sure if it was because of the running or what happened at the school. Letting out a huff, Lusine took a look around. She was in town, there were people giving her looks, and Lusine knew she had to get out. She could hear the voices starting to take over, and that caused Lusine to wince. Brushing some of her black hair out of her face, Lusine quickly made her way out, heading in the direction of her house. She didn't want a repeat of what happened at the middle school.

One thing Lusine was grateful for was how small her hometown was. Since the only people who inhabited the town were farmers or people looking for a quieter life, that meant everything was pretty peaceful. But for Lusine, she felt like she was disrupting that peace. Her _and_ her family. People isolated the Avakian family, one because Lusine's mother came from Armenia; two because Lusine's mother, Viktoria, was an unmarried mother of two; and finally, because Lusine and her sister, Karina, just didn't fit in at school. Viktoria had homeschooled her daughters up until Lusine's seventh grade year and Karina's fifth grade year. Once the sisters' mother managed to find a steady job, that meant the Avakian sisters would be in public school.

The people of Smallville didn't seem to care all that much for the Avakian family, seeing them more as a problem than a nice addition to the community. Lusine and Karina did their best to fit in, but it wasn't good enough in the eyes of their peers. Viktoria worked to provide for her daughters, and she did just as much work as the next person, but she wasn't looked at as an equal. But now that Lusine started experiencing so many weird changes, she felt like an even bigger problem. An even bigger _outcast_. So she kept a hurried pace, hoping to get home before her mother or Karina found out what happened. That was _the_ most important thing.

 **O.O.O.O**

The one thing that stood out about Smallville were the neighborhoods. Since the town was a farming community, that meant the neighborhoods were designed differently than standard suburbs. Neighbors didn't live super close to each other; the closest one was probably a little over a mile away. It was nice, since that meant no disturbances, but there were also some issues that came with that. Any problems or emergencies usually meant having to travel over a _mile_ just to get in touch with someone. That's not saying Smallville didn't have landlines or anything, but hardly anyone ever used phones of _any_ kind if they could help it. That was one thing Lusine was thankful for. The only downside, the longer she thought about it, would be neighbors being nosier than usual.

Running a hand through her hair, Lusine felt her body trembling as she continued her journey home. Her originally hurried pace had slowed to a moping walk, her black hair falling around her face as she looked down. Lusine's skin still felt tingly, which made her tremble a little harder. Was the tingling from what happened with Mrs. Mitchells? What _did_ happen to her after Lusine left? None of what was happening made sense. Lusine's mind was already jumbled with how to deal with the voices, but now _touch_? How could there be a good explanation for that?* There _had_ to be some kind of explanation. Maybe the answer wouldn't come straightaway, but it had to start somewhere, right?

A faint whispered voice made its way into Lusine's mind. Her walk faltered for a moment. The way to Lusine's house was through a commonly used dirt road. For Lusine's neighborhood, the dirt road led to a lot of the other properties. It was big enough for cars to drive by, and gave just enough room for people to walk down. When it came to the voices, however, they weren't as loud compared to the middle school. There was a loudness to the neighborhood voices, but nothing too overwhelming. But the voice that was currently whispering in Lusine's head was familiar. There was a name attached to it that Lusine just couldn't remember.

 _Oh my God, what is she doing out here? After what happened...Maybe I should go..._

Tensing her shoulders, Lusine hurried her pace; going at a light jog. She saw a house to her right, just out of the corner of her eye. The house looked familiar, too, but Lusine just couldn't figure out what. Her family weren't exactly close with the neighbors, so it wasn't like Lusine went out of her way to remember faces or names.

"Lusine!" a voice called out. A woman's voice. "Lusine, wait!"

The twelve year old broke into a sprint, hoping to outrun the voice that was starting to come closer. Lusine was pretty exhausted from earlier events, so it wasn't like she was getting very far, even while sprinting.

"Sweetie, will you just wait?!" _I need to get her...She's the one responsible, isn't she? What should I do? Do I call her mother?..._ "I just want to help you!"

"No you don't!" Lusine cried. "Leave me alone!"

A hand reached out and grabbed Lusine by her shoulder, causing the twelve year old to feel a surge of panic rush through her. Yanking herself out of the grip, Lusine stumbled onto her knees, breathing heavily. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute, her head swirling as the voice continued to talk and whisper, making Lusine feel like she was suffocating. When a figure knelt down in front of her, Lusine shrunk away, terrified of what would happen. Kneeling in front of the twelve year old was a woman who had to be somewhere in her late thirties or early forties. Maybe a little older. Her dark hair was graying in certain areas, and wrinkles were becoming more prominent on her face. But Lusine felt kindness radiating off the woman, something she wasn't accustomed to from anyone in town.

"Hey," the woman said, her voice gentle. "Do you remember me?" Lusine looked at the woman warily, feeling her stomach knot up. The voice whispered in her head some more, almost tuning out what the woman was saying. "I'm Martha," the woman, Martha, went on. "I'm Clark's mother. Do you know Clark?"

Lusine shook her head.

"Well that's fine." With a soft, but strained, smile, Martha reached out to touch Lusine's shoulder, but the young girl shrunk back even further. "Sweetie, what's wrong? What's happened?"

"I've gotta go," was the only response Martha got.

With a nod, the older woman sighed. "I heard about what happened at the school, Lusine," Martha said quietly. "About what happened to Mrs. Mitchells. The school called parents, letting them know." Lusine felt her heart drop into her stomach. "Do you wanna come inside? I can fix you a drink, if you'd like."

Lusine's eyes went to Martha's. The older woman _seemed_ nice enough; but chances are it could be a front. Though if Lusine decided to go with Martha instead of heading straight home, that would mean the young girl could have enough time to devise an explanation before Viktoria came home.

With a single nod, Lusine stood up, rejecting Martha's extended hand. She'd have to make the most of the opportunity given to her.

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 **(A/N):**

 **Not the best first chapter, but I hope it's at least tolerable. For those of you who found it frustrating that there wasn't an actual chapter up; I'm completely aware of that. My internet's been kinda crazy lately and I was bombarded with so many things that I lost track of this. Hopefully you guys can understand that.**

 **This story will be written in the MAN OF STEEL universe, and this will also be my first attempt at writing a DC-based story. I'm a really big fan of MARVEL, so I hope I get the characters right. If any of you notice that I'm writing any of the canon characters incorrectly, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? I'd hate to have to find out later I was writing them wrong and then rewrite God knows how many chapters to fix that mistake. So please, help a fella out. I'd really appreciate it.**

 **On that note, here's a disclaimer! I don't own anything in the DCEU. All I own are my characters and the subplots I put in. Everything else belongs to the maker[s] of the DCEU movie[s] involving Superman _(plus the characters involved in those movies, too)_ and whoever made the Superman comics. I don't know if that made sense. I just hope you got the general idea.**

 **Like I mentioned before, my internet's been wacky and I have been dealing with so many things that were thrown at me, that this story was on the very, very, very bottom of my list of things to do. I'm hoping you guys like it, or at least tolerate it. Let me know what needs improvement. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 **Happy holidays.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Aiden St. Felix**


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